Monday, July 6, 2015

Sheep (Ovisaries)
are ruminant mammals typically kept as
livestock. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the
most numerous species of sheep. An adult female sheep is referred to as a ewe; male as a ram and a younger sheep as a
lamb. Sheep continue to be important for
wool and meat today, and lot of research
goes on it which is subject matter of this post.

Genetically
Modified animals are nothing new - Transgenic mice, rats and other laboratory
animals have transformed human
understanding of human disease and facilitated the development of new
drugs - though welfare considerations make their continued use
controversial.Goats have been genetically modified to produce human drugs. Some time back, Scientists in Uruguay
genetically modified sheep to glow in the dark. The fluorescent sheep are a
world first, the scientists reported.

The
flock of nine lambs were born at a farm belonging to the Animal
Reproduction Institute of Uruguay, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the
Pasteur Institute's genetically modified animals unit. The laboratory
incorporated a green fluorescence protein into the genes of the sheep, which
will glow when exposed to certain ultraviolet light, making the the ruminants
easily identifiable as genetically modified.Other than glowing green in UV
light, the sheep look and behave normally. Scientists modified the sheep's
genes with the fluorescent protein of the Aequarea jellyfish. It was stated that the sheep were living a normal life, perhaps even slightly
more luxurious than typical sheep.

Now
comes the news that lamb genetically modified elsewhere with jellyfish DNA to give it transparent
skin ended up being eaten after it was 'accidentally' sent to French abattoir !
……

The
female lamb, namedRubis, was created by
Europe’s top agricultural research institute, France’s national institute for
agricultural research (Inra). Rubis wasn’t the freakish hybrid– all wool and
stinging tentacles. Rubis was modified with one specific jellyfish protein that
gave a green fluorescent glow.The
research was part of Inra’s “green sheep” programme, launched in 2009. The
protein makes the skin transparent and produces a green glow visible in certain
ultraviolet light. It is usually used to monitor the activity of altered genes,
and in Rubis’ case to monitor transplants for heart disease.

Selling
GM foods for human consumption is illegal in France. Inra has strictly no right
to sell GM animals.However, Inra’s animal research unit (UECA) does sell
unmodified animals to a local abattoir. An internal investigation suspects foul
play by one employee, who deliberately sent Rubis to slaughter as revenge
during a feud with a colleague.The colossal slip-up that led to Rubis being
sent to the abattoir with all the “normal” sheep could do a lot of harm to the
institute.According to Inra policy, GM animals such as Rubis are usually
euthanised then incinerated.

Irishexaminer.com
states that thankfully (for whichever lamb fan ended up eating Rubis) the
modified sheep was classified 1 GMO. This means she contained a gene posing “no
or negligible risk” to humans.However, that is unlikely to prevent outrage. One
former Inra biochemist, Gerard Pascal, told France’s Le Parisien paper that
Rubis’ entry to the food chain was “intolerable”.“Beyond the ethical issues,
one cannot put foodstuffs into the market that haven’t been the subject of deep
research. Until they’ve been studied, one cannot assess the risk,” he said.

Benoit
Malpaux of Inra said culprits would be punished. “This is unacceptable and
calls for the utmost severity. We are a world-renowned institute. We cannot
tolerate such acts.”But the matter will go beyond Inra’s internal
investigation. The charge of “placing on the market a genetically modified
product or product containing such organisms” carries a maximum one-year prison
sentence and fine of 75,000 euro.A French judicial source said: “This affair
seems unbelievable and threatens to do harm to an institute that is renowned
for its seriousness. But it also shows, if the facts prove correct, that the
best-controlled institution cannot ward against individual waywardness.”

INRA
believes it may have been a malicious act on the part of two employees.The news
comes as new research found that the humble starfish may hold the secret of
eternal youth.Swedish scientists say they have discovered that starfish - which
can reproduce by cloning themselves - produce a
special kind of DNA that doesn't age as it does in humans.However this unique
genetic trait was only found in starfish that reproduced by cloning, rather
than sexually.The discovery relates to
what are known as tiny structures called telomeres - biological caps found at
the ends of chromosomes.